Trader Greg Rowe reacts after the closing bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, New York, U.S., October 27, 2017. (Photo: Reuters)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) breached 25,000 for the first time ever only minutes into the third trading day of 2018. UPDATED: As of 9:54 AM EST, the Blue Chip index was up 128.26 points (0.51%) to 25,050.94 and even climbed as high as 25,053.17.

If it closes above 25,000, it would be the fastest 1,000-point climb in history.

On Wednesday, the Dow hit 24,941.92 before closing up 98.67 points (0.40%) at 24,922.68. The S&P 500 Index (INDEXCBOE: .INX) climbed to 2,714.37 before closing up 17.25 points (0.64%) at 2,713.06, while the Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ: .IXIC) rose to 7,069.15 before closing up 58.63 points (0.84%) at 7,065.53.

All three are record highs closes.

“We’re 3 trading days into 2018, and expectations for a swift correction to counter the sharp gains in the last 6 weeks of 2017 are being severely tested,” TJM Investments analyst Tim Anderson said. “Both the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 have shown little hesitation at major ’round number’ milestones of 7,000 and 2,700, respectively.”

In 2017, the Dow Jones notched 71 record closes and soared slightly more than 25.08%. The Nasdaq rallied 28.24% on the year and the S&P 500 ended the year up 19.42%. The surge for the Dow above 25,000 for the first time came after the ADP National Employment Report showed job creation in the U.S. private sector was much stronger than expected.

Looking ahead to 2018, President Donald Trump’s policies have fueled historic levels of optimism among consumers and businesses. Forecast models are now calling for U.S. economic growth as measured by gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by at least 3% on an annual basis in the fourth quarter (4Q).

In 2016, the U.S. economy grew at just 1.6% on an annual basis, it’s worst performance since 2011. But if the 4Q forecasts are matches or exceeded, it’ll mark the third straight quarter of economic growth at or above 3% since 2004.

Further, if the 4Q for 2017 comes in at the lower end of the regional Federal Reserve forecasts, roughly 3.2%, economic growth during the first year under President Trump will easily exceed the strongest year under Barack Obama.

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Richard D. Baris is the Editor-in-Chief of the People's Pundit Daily (PPD) Election Projection Model and Director of the Big Data Poll, both of which conducted the most accurate forecasting and polling in 2016. He is also the author of the must-read book on American political philosophy, <em>Our Virtuous Republic: The Forgotten Clause in the American Social Contract</em>.